Ridgeway Street, Douglas, Isle of Man
Our party of five arrived for early dinner 15 minutes after our reservation. When phoning to advise of late arrival, Tanroagan’s management was reluctant to shift the reservation back by more than 15 minutes. As our meal proceeded, we understood this reluctance: by 8.00 all 15 tables were occupied. New customers were turned away. Our server told us that the restaurant is normally full for dinner in summer. Reservations are advisable.
We were grateful that our request for a side table was met. On a previous visit, we had felt squashed in a central table. Tables are close, with total seating around 35. Although there are meat dishes, Tanroagan’s web site indicates that it is primarily a seafood restaurant. The décor reflects this with boats, sea and fishy scenes in wall pictures, tiny sea shells stuck to the top of its cocktail sticks and more.
After drinks orders, we were welcomed by a huge serving of home baked bread: a single loaf, still warm and divided into three distinct sections: cheese and onion, tomato and basil and rosemary and herbs. These were so yummy that we skipped starters.
Most of the evening menu differs from the lunch menu. The dinner menu on Tanroagan’s website has a choice of six starters, seven or so main dishes and around five desserts. Also, in the restaurant, there are two boards of daily specials, one listing fish dishes, averaging perhaps ₤25 and the other meat and seafood dishes, averaging ₤28 or so. Side dishes of additional chips or vegetables cost an extra ₤3 plus.
One of our party had tasted Tanroagan’s gigantic fingers of solid Pollack before and selected this, with chunky chips and tartar sauce. The ratio of fish to batter is probably higher than normal fish and chips because the fish is cut into thick fingers. Forgetting calories, she enjoyed the taste and would order the same again.
Two of us selected the pan roasted cod fillets on a bed of cheddar mash potatoes, crispy bacon and white butter sauce. The cod fillets were large, probably exceeding 8 oz each.
We each exchanged forkfuls to compare opinions. The consensus was that the cod was tastier than the hake fillet which I had ordered but which some found somewhat dry. I prefer my fish without grease or sauce and really enjoyed the lightly breaded hake, bedded on mashed potatoes with a delicious mix of creamed leeks, peas and dill. The hake fillet probably weighed around 8oz. I would go for this again if not tempted by other choices on our next visit. Overall, all our fish dishes met our high expectations.
One of us ordered medium rare rib eye steak. This came with just the right rareness and was served with mushrooms, shallots, a red wine sauce and chunky chips. He thought it great for a rib eye steak, though not comparable with nearby McFarlane’s fillet steak.
Full from our main courses, we shared just two desserts: a fondue of dark Toblerone chocolate and rum with strawberries, meringue and other fruit and an Eton mess, which normally comes with raspberries, meringue and whipped cream. The chef kindly accommodated our request to substitute the whipped cream with ice cream. Both desserts were generous in size. We all much preferred the Eton mess. The home made ice cream was almost up to Davidson’s standard. The other dessert was tasty but the chocolate sauce was too thin and runny for the intended dipping of fruit and meringue.
Service was clearly stretched when the restaurant was full with 25 minutes wait between main course and dessert (came without spoons which we had to ask for) and in obtaining the bill (20 minutes). Despite the full house, our server was friendly and informative.
Public car parking was relatively easy when we arrived at 6.45, but when we left at around 8.45 pm, cars were searching for free spaces.
We enjoyed our meal and will return. We recommend Tanroagan most especially for its tasty seafood and generally for an enjoyable eating experience in Douglas.
Nocim - August 2010